around 20 lives in siargao, though many believe if it wasn't for the mangroves that cover 50% of the island's coastline, more lives could have been lost. oh, it's vitally important. it's the heartbeat of the island. without the mangroves, there would... the island would be exposed to natural disasters like typhoons and tsunamis and storm surges, which is a regular occurrence in the philippines. this february, the philippines government recognised siargao's mangrove forest of del carmen as a wetland of international importance. this is good news when you consider, in bygone decades, mangroves were ripped up forfirewood and building materials. when we came out after, the day after odette, you could clearly see that all the leaves of the mangroves were gone. it was bare.